Liquid circulator and heater for tanks



Oct. 6, 1 942. w. B. Hu'rcHmes 2,297,763

LIQUID CIRCULATOR AND HEATER FOR TANKS Filed Jan. 22, 1941 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 6, 1942 UNITED s 'ra'riss PATENT OFFICE LIQUID CIRCULATOR AND HEATER FOR B. llutchlnga'llurom- 8. Lab, assignor to 1 Company, Inc., a corporation or New York Syracuse, N. Y.,

2Clnlms.

' This invention relates to a heater and circulator for liquid in tanks, and especially for heating the liquid or water for use in commercial laundry washing machines and the like;

It has for its object a heater by which the water in the tank is quicklyand uniformly heated by circulating small confined quantities in'intimate contact with the heated gas or steam.

It further has for its object a heater'in which the heating medium, as steam, is injected into the water in such a manner as to cause circalation and mixture with the water while the water is being drawn by the injector action througha relatively small elongated passage or passages.

readily applied as aunit to the tank.

The invention consists in the novel features and in the combinations and constructions hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In describing this invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing in which like characters designate views.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan, partly in section, of this heater, the same being shown as applied to a mixing tank,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional line of 2 -2, Figure 1, v

I designate; a mixing tank, which is here shownas oblong in general form. the tankhere shown being usually a. tank for preparing as to temperature andquantity, the'washing liquid to he used in the commercial washing machine. While the washing machine'is performing one view on the operation, the fluid for the next operation is being prepared in the tank. 2 designates an intake pipe for connection to a suitable water supply, this having a valve I therein.

4 designates, generally, conduits "through which therein, this pipe communicating with the steam chamber of theheater to be presently described. The heater is so constructed as to be readily applied as a unit to the tank, and comprises a body ll formed with one or more inlets l2 into the tank and also with a steam chamber, as H, which is connected to the valve controlled pipe 1. The heater also includes a plurality of elongated outlet passages or tubes ll communicating with the body II and injector nozzles l5,'one for each tube I, the nozzles communicating with the steam chamber l3 and having their ends projecting slightly into the inner ends of the tubes l4 and so relatively arranged thereto and to the inlet passages II of the body that when steam, underpressure, is passing through the nozzles, the liquid or water is drawn from the tank through the inlet passages i2 and passed by the injector action through the tubes ll.

While passing 'therethrough, the steam comes into intimate contact with and mixes with the relatively small quantity of water in the tubes, so that the water is quickly heated in the tubes,

.and hence the entire volume of water quickly heated, due to the rapid circulation of the water through the tubes ll by the injector action.

.As the injector action sets up undesirable vibra'tions and noises, the nozzles are so arranged corresponding parts in all the that the vibrations thereof cancel out or'neutralize each other, and as here shown, the tubes are'rall of substantially the same diameter, but

arranged with their discharge ends out of transverse alinement- Preferably, this is effected by making the tubes of different lengths. As here illustrated, the discharge ends of the tubes are arranged instep formation or in echelon. I

The body II is formed with a base I! through which the inlet passage'lB' to the chamber is 10- cated, this base having a threaded tubular stem I! extending through a wall, as the bottom'of the tank, and to which the pipe I is coupled, the

base l'l being clamped in position by a nutll screwing on the stem. [9 against the bottom of thetank. Obviously, the heater'is a unit which can be readily and quickly applied to the tank.-

The valves 3, '6, '8, 9' are usually self-closing and automatically opened by a cycle timer coningredients, or chemical agents, as soap, bleach, V

sour, etc., may be supplied to the water inthe tank. I

I is n-steam pipe having a control valve I trolling .the operations of the washing machine,

as well as theoperations of the tank including a temperature control. The program or formulae sheet of the timer calls for diflferent water temperatures and levels for diilerent opera-f ticns,'and usually the setting of the temperature controls and'the level control are automatically eflected by the timer. However, this automatic feature iorms no part of this inven= tion.

2| designates a temperature control, which controlathe opening and closing of the steam valve 8 through electro-responsive device desi nated 22, the circuit through the wires 23 to this device being controlled by the timer through the temperature control 2i. Likewise, the opening and closing of the water valve or valves t are ef= In the general operation of theheater, when;

the predetermined temperature is called for by the program or formulae sheet of the timer, the circuit isclosed through the electro-responsive device 22 to open the valve t, the water valve or valve 3 having been opened also by the timer With the valve 8 open, steam passes through the pipe Ito the steam chamber is of the body ll of the heater through the nozzles it and the tubes l3, setting up an injector action, drawing the water from the tank through the inlet passages l2 of the body and through the tubes it, so that thewater is quickly heated and chewlated. When the predetermined temperature is reached, the temperature control 2! automatically closes the valve s, and if the temperature falls below a predetermined point, before the desired water level is reached, the valve 8 is again automatically opened by the device 2i. Owing to the plurality of nozzles and the arrangement thereof, comparatively large heat exchange surfaces or aaaviica I v facilitates are provided within um space and also owing to the'arrangement of the discharge tubes, vibrations and noise that would otherwise occur, are eliminated.

' injector nozzles communicating with the steam chamber and extending into the inner ends of the tubes, the tubes overhanging and spaced from the bottom of the tank, and the tubes being of difierentlengths all so that the vibrations set up by the injector and circulation actions'in each tube are substantially neutralized by that in the other tubes.

2. The combination with atomic for a liquid rectangular in general form; of a liquid circulator and heater mounted therein comprising a body mounted on the bottom of the tank and for the most part spaced from the bottom of the tank, the body having inlets opening laterally into the tank and also a steam chamber for connection to a source of steam, the body being arranged on one side of the median line of the tank, outlet tubes projecting from the body and overhanging and spaced from the bottom of the tank, injector nozzles communicating with the steam chamber and extending into the inner ends of the tubes, the tubes being parallel and of different lengths, and arranged with their outer ends in echelon with the longer tube adjacent one side of the tank and the shortest tube toward the center of the tank. 1

WALTER B. HUTCHINGS. 

